2 kidnappers killed, 6 nabbed in Zambo raid

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Two suspected members of a kidnapping syndicate were killed while six others, including an alleged leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and a police officer, were captured following a raid here shortly before dawn yesterday, security officials said.

A member of the police Special Action Force was wounded in an exchange of fire between the raiding team and the suspects, said city police chief Senior Superintendent Angelito Casimiro.

Casimiro said the police officers were out to serve an arrest warrant at an apartment in Barangay Sta. Maria when they were met with gunshots at around 1:30 a.m.

He said the warrant was for the 12 suspects, but four of them escaped at the height of the shootout. The police official said the shootout left two of the suspects, Jawhari Jamani and Aripin Abani, dead and Police Officer 2 Carlos Bocaig wounded.

Casimiro said among the captured suspects were Mamarin Pillay, chairman of Barangay Lakiki in Sibuco town, and Allan Abdulla, Jackarin Jamani, 22, Nasser Allama alias Wakas, Alahraf Apion, and Police Officer 1 Saudi Apion of the Lamitan City police. He said Pillay, alias Panyang, is an alleged MILF leader.

Authorities recovered four caliber .45 pistols and three grenades from the suspects.

“The suspects were involved in the kidnapping activities and gunrunning,” Casimiro said noting among the group’s victims were Rebecca Dipay of the National Irrigation Administration, teacher Teresita Ongchua, and a businesswoman.

Casimiro said they are looking into reports that the group was behind the kidnapping of Michael Co, a son of a gasoline station owner from Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte.

Co released

Kidnappers released Co in a remote village here on Sunday, two weeks after they snatched him in Siocon town, officials reported yesterday.

Co, 27, was abandoned by his captors in Barangay Labuan, more than 30 kilometers west of this city, said Senior Inspector Joseph Ortega, spokesman for the Police Regional Office 9.

The kidnappers reportedly demanded P50 million ransom in exchange for Co’s freedom.

Authorities however, cannot confirm or deny whether ransom was paid to the kidnappers. A source said the Co family paid P1.5 million for his release.

Co, who suffered a bullet wound in the leg, walked to a nearby gas station where his family found him. He was taken to the hospital for treatment.